Here’s a tip I share with my clients (it may seem obvious for some, but this is a huge place of tension across intergenerational lines):

When you receive a text or an email, respond. Let the sender know that you received it. If it’s an email, let them know what you are going to do with the information and when you intend to follow up.  For more than one generation, when you don’t respond, it feels disrespectful and can cause a level of frustration between coworkers that can easily be avoided.  For some, they are passing along what they see is vital information and they are expecting you to pick up the baton and complete the task. When you don’t respond, they feel like they have to carry a responsibility that is actually yours to carry. This can lead to increased tension across the workplace and decreased productivity on teams.

 When you respond, you are communicating several things:

·       You appreciate them taking the time to send you information that they believe you need to get a job done and to do it well.  (They probably would not have taken the time to send the email if they didn’t think it was important)

·       You respect their input.

·       You are taking responsibility for what they are asking you to do.

·       You are a team player.

If your team is struggling to communicate well, it might be time to regroup and agree on how to communicate. It will save you both time and money (and some unwanted headaches) to create a shared understanding of what your team members expect and need when it comes to communicating to get a job done.

For more insights, check out katherinejeffery.com.